“Then, as luck would have it, the amount of experience I had accumulated to age 18 was enough for me to qualify for a Coast Guard license,” he says. “My father, who is a pretty average sailor, realized this was an opportunity and explained it to me.”

Miles understood very clearly what his father was trying to say. “I never studied harder for a test than I did that one,” he says. “I passed and sort of never looked back.”

Not only does Miles’ job put food on the table, it allows him to do what he loves most. “I got involved in the traditional side of sailing,” he says. “I got selected to work on the first Baltimore Pride.”

That ship was built as an authentic reproduction of a 19th-century Baltimore clipper schooner that participated in the War of 1812. On May 14, 1986, while returning from the Caribbean, the first Pride encountered a microburst squall and sank.

While eight crew members were rescued, the captain and three crew were lost.

“I had sailed her a number of times and sailed her over to Europe,” Miles says.

“The sinking was the kind of thing that takes people by surprise,” he says. “But it happens in very rare moments of circumstance. It all relates to how powerful the weather can be.”

Yet the danger is always present, and Miles never forgets it. “The business of respecting the potential of isolated weather conditions is something I’m always wrestling with,” he says. “The weather has an all-powerful capacity.”

Compared to driving an automobile, captaining a ship is statistically more safe. “You have to know what you’re doing,” Miles says. “We constantly improve vessels and the weather service improves ways to predict the weather.”

Even at sea, the crew lives well. “We don’t live with air conditioning, but we do live with all kinds of modern conveniences,” Miles says. “We have electricity.

“The crew have the option to dig out a screen or a laptop. We have a cook onboard who is hired for the purpose of feeding everybody regularly.”

The ship is approved for a crew of 12. “But we have space for another six who can work as if they are crew but pay for the privilege,” Miles says.

The Pride of Baltimore II is currently carrying three crew who have paid to work hard. “They are typically between the ages of 50 to 75,” Miles says. “It’s one of the few, possibly the only, American traditional sailing vessel that offers adult access to having a hands-on experience. Most vessels are oriented to youth training.”

While in Savannah, the Pride will be open to visitors. “That’s the whole reason Savannah is having this party,” Miles says. “We say, ‘Hey you, public, come over and see what we have for you to look at.’”

Miles wouldn’t consider doing anything else. “What else better is there to do?” he asks. “If you’ve got an idea, I’ll consider it, but it’s got to be better.

“I’ve had the opportunity of being in command of a very interesting vessel, a very challenging vessel,” Miles says. “It has an interesting history that represents the true American entrepreneurial nature.”

That was discovered when the tall ships first fought in the War of 1812. “We were a very young nation and we had our ideas and we were busy doing our lives when we had a case of the crazies,” Miles says.

“We wound up with our backs against the wall and resorted to privateering — citizens who were willing to take risks because of the rewards,” he says. “If they did that with minimal risk, there were tremendous profits.”

That’s because the tall ships were very nimble and maneuverable. “We weren’t cruising around in a limo, we were in a Formula One car,” Miles says. “You had to know what you were doing, and we discovered we were creative and inventive.

“I’m sailing one of those kinds of crafts,” he says. “The crew gets a charge out of it because they are learning so many things.”

The Pride of Baltimore II was commissioned in 1988 as a sailing memorial to her immediate predecessor. The ship actually has two captains, but Capt. Jamie Trost is landlocked for the present time.

“I’m working as a waterfront consultant for the event,” he says. “It means that because this is the first time the Tall Ships Challenge has been held in Savannah, they wanted someone who had been to a number of these events as captains to come in and help.”

Trost has been sailing professionally for 14 years, the last four on the Pride. “I think the reason anyone gets involved in traditional sailing is because there’s a sense like no other,” he says. “The teamwork that is required to sail ships creates a bond between the crew.”

Being at sea is a challenging experience. “Your world becomes the ship,” Trost says. “But you still have business to conduct. Then you see the human interplay of work and rest.

“The world gets smaller,” he says. “All non-essentials are weeded out. The focus is the ship and the idea that we’re all in same boat is exactly true. The ship comes first, then your shipmates, then yourself. Everyone is looking out for one another.”

About 3,000 to 3,500 people are expected to visit the Pride of Baltimore II in Savannah, Trost says. “This is our first port, so everyone is gathering from far away,” he says. “They’re coming from as far Indonesia, Canada and France.”

The Parade to Sail will be a highlight of the challenge. “We will depart on Monday the 7th out of Savannah,” Trost says. “All the ships will assemble just before 11 a.m. and by 11:40 a.m., the last ship will get off the dock. They’ll all parade past downtown Savannah, and later in the afternoon, they’ll be passing Tybee Island.”

Once the parade is over, the ships will be released. At 5 p.m., the racing will start.

Will the Tall Ships Challenge return to Savannah? “It’s always possible to have another event,” Trost says. “It’s up to the individual ports.

“It’s up to the ships to do a good enough job to create demand,” he says. “It’s up to the ports to meet that public demand. We think Savannah is a great place for this, with a terrific downtown area.”

The race behind the fun

There really is a race involved in the whole affair, although most Savannahians aren’t likely to see it.

“It’s a race series that was created to provide a program for tall ships whose missions typically are sail training,” says Patti Lock of the Tall Ships America Group, which is sponsoring the race.

“Having them work under race conditions gives a new environment to work with crew members to train them to win the race,” Lock says. “Our first race is out of Savannah. They’ll race to Cape Fear in the first leg. There will be others legs as they work their way northward.”

The race isn’t like any other. “We can’t think of it as a race as in car races where everyone sits at the starting line,” Lock says. “Under international race rules, there is a 1-mile race start.

“We need to give them latitude and room to move,” she says. “They’ll start off Tybee Island.”

The public can go view this part of the race, even though it’s not an official part of the festivities. “A lot of people like to see them under sail,” Lock says.

The challenge is a huge draw for locals and tourists alike. “We work with a lot of ports,” Lock says. “The tourism impact is tremendous. The race start and the race stop are always in port cities.”

Ports must apply to be part of the Tall Ships Challenge. “Savannah saw the value of having the ships come in,” Lock says. “It puts Savannah on an international stage, a global stage. Not every port can do that. It’s good cultural exchange.”

The 2012 Tall Ships Challenge marks the 200th anniversary of the start of the War of 1812. Next year’s event will take place in the Great Lakes, but it might return to Savannah in 2014.

“In 1813, a major part of the war took place in the Great Lakes and Ontario, so the challenge is going there in 2013,” Lock says. “But there will be more activities in 2014 and we’re already talking to Savannah about what the city wants to do.”

The 2013 events will be different from the 2012 events. Even the ships will be different.

“A salt water vessel is different from a fresh water vessel,” Lock says.

The Tall Ships Challenge is as much a living history event as a race. “A lot of the ships’ crews maintain the same lifestyle of the time period,” Lock says.

“Part of the mission is to replicate history,” she says. “The Lynx is out of California, and the crew wears period costumes.”

The educational aspect

Tall Ships America is a nonprofit organization focused on youth education, leadership development and the preservation of the maritime heritage of North America. It has scholarship and grant programs to ensure sail training continues.

The tall ship Roseway is a floating educational platform for the World Ocean School, says Capt. Dwight Deckelmann, vice-president and co-founder of he school. “We have various programs that cater to public school kids between the ages of 12 and 16,” he says.

“Some are resident programs, some are day programs,” Deckelmann says. “We do different programs that we try to tie into school curriculum in math, science and history.”

The Roseway is possibly the oldest vessel at the challenge, Deckelmann says. “It’s definitely the most beautiful at this event,” he says.

The 137-foot Roseway was built in 1925 in Essex, Mass., as a private fishing yacht. She was purchased by the Boston Pilots

Association in 1941 and was the last pilot schooner in the United States when she was retired in 1973.

In September 2002, the Roseway was donated to the World Ocean School. Today, after 78 years of service, she is one of the last Grand Banks schooners built in Essex, and is a registered U.S. National Historic Landmark.

“The great thing about doing education on boats is that it’s all about being a community and being a team member,” Deckelmann says. “They are isolated from the greater world as soon as we pull away from the dock. It doesn’t matter where you are, you are responsible for yourselves. It’s a really powerful lesson that kids pick up on right away.”

Crews truly are on their own. “For the most part, there are no cellphones or Internet,” Deckelmann says. “The crew members are responsible for the vessel.

“We don’t have the fire department or the road service at sea,” he says. “We don’t have anything to bail us out. You can’t immediately get off unless you want to swim.”

Deckelmann began his career with tall ships about 20 years ago when he co-founded the World Ocean School. “The reason I do this is because I love to work with kids and I love boats,” he says. “I love wooden boats. That’s my connection.”

The Roseway was the first tall ship to arrive in port and is docked at the Westin Savannah. “Savannah has been very welcoming to the Roseway,” Deckelmann says. “We’ve had three different local schools on board so far. We haven’t opened officially to the public, but we do open to the public when we’re not working with kids. We also sell T-shirts.”

The local angle

One local ship that will participate in the festivities is The Renegade, but her purpose is nothing but fun. The Renegade is home to the Savannah River Street Pirates, a new tourist attraction that opened May 1, just in time for the Tall Ships Challenge.

“We operate a barge and tug company, a family run business, and wanted to bring a fun tour to Savannah for the local children and tourists,” says Jim Reilley, principal, sales and marketing at the Savannah River Street Pirates.

The Renegade was custom built in 2012 to owner specifications, designed with excursions in mind. She is 60 feet long with an 18-foot beam, and is powered by twin Volvo diesel engines.

The ship is equipped with custom water cannons, and guests may be called upon to help fight off pirates and other enemies who are trying to steal the Renegade’s treasure. Guests dress as pirates, hoist the colors and get temporary tattoos in the form of face painting.

They learn how to talk, sing and dance like pirates. They even get to search for treasure and visit a pirate’s lair and a shipwreck.

As the Renegade passes Old Fort Jackson, the crew and the pirates stand ready for battle. At times, the ship will be saluted by cannon fire from Old Fort Jackson.

The Renegade will be docked near the children’s area during the Tall Ships Challenge. “We’ll have pirates and we’ll be running cruises,” Reilley says.

“This is new for Savannah, but I’ve seen it in the Caribbean,” he says. “We’re licensed to play Disney music and have a sound system on board with authentic pirates played by kids who are going to school to study theater.”

A lecture series at the Oglethorpe Auditorium will highlight key events in Savannah’s 1812 maritime history. On May 4 at 11 a.m., Daniel G. Carey, president and CEO of the Historic Savannah Foundation, will present “The Story of Historic Preservation in Savannah.”

On May 5 at 2 p.m., local historian and author Hugh Golson will present a lecture, “Savannah 1812.” He will discuss the Privateer Affair, a staged riot in the Savannah Harbor where locals burned two French ships, putting the international community into an uproar while Savannah was deciding who to back in the War of 1812.

Golson also will sign copies of “Andrew Low and the Sign of the Buck,” which he coauthored with Jennifer Guthrie Ryan. A former history teacher, Golson is the chairman of the Davenport House Endowment Fund.

A series of movies featuring tall ships will be presented throughout the weekend at Oglethorpe Auditorium.

Local historian and filmmaker Michael Jordan will screen his new documentary “Savannah’s Famous Ships” throughout the weekend. Highlighting Savannah’s maritime history over the last 275 years, the film will be presented in the Oglethorpe Auditorium at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center.

“Savannah would not exist without the seagoing vessels that have been our city’s life blood since our founding in 1733,” Jordan says. “This weekend is a remarkable opportunity for visitors to reflect on that rich heritage and how far we’ve come as they stand in the shadow of a historic tall ship as they watch massive container ships steam past.”

ON THE WEB

SavannahNow.com/tallships is your Tall Ships headquarters throughout the week and weekend, with stories, video, extensive photo packages and more.

On Twitter, follow @SavannahNow and @DoSavannah for live reports from River Street, Hutchinson Island and aboard the ships.

One-day admission, access aboard any Tall Ship: $20 for adults, $10 for children 5-16 if purchased before May 3. Day-of tickets are $25 and $12. Children under 4 are free.

Multi-day admission, access aboard any Tall Ship: $50 for adults, $25 for children 5-16 if purchased before May 3. Day-of tickets are $60 and $30. Children under 4 are free.

A military discount of $5 is available with I.D.

Excursions

One-hour (motor sail) excursions will be available on the Alliance, the Appledore V and the Roseway on Friday, the Alliance and Roseway on Saturday and the Alliance and Appledore V on Sunday. Tickets are $50 for both children and adults, with children under 4 not admitted.

Alliance

10-11:15 a.m.Noon-1:15 p.m.2-3:15 p.m.4-5:15 p.m.

Appledore V

11 a.m.-noon12:30-1:30 p.m.2-3 p.m.3:30-4:30 p.m.

Roseway

10:15-11:30 a.m.12:15-1:30 p.m.2:15-3:30 p.m.4:15-5:30 p.m.

GENERAL SCHEDULE

May 3

7 a.m.-noon. Anticipated arrival of remaining ships. Arrivals are weather and tide dependent and subject to change without notice.